ISLAMABAD: Defending champion Multan Sultans kept their winning streak intact as they defeated Islamabad United on Tuesday by 20 runs in the eighth Pakistan Super League (PSL) match played at the National Stadium Karachi.
Islamabad won the toss and elected to bowl. However, the two-time title winner could not prevent Multan from hitting a huge total of 217 runs even after taking an early wicket of skipper Mohammed Rizwan who had only scored 12 runs.
Opener Shan Masood stayed at the crease and hit 43 runs with a strike rate of 138.71.
While Multan were 78 for 3, their innings was stabilized by Rilee Rossouw (67 off 35 balls) and Tim David (71 off 29 deliveries) who took their team to 188 through their long partnership.
Multan lost another wicket of Khushdil Shah (8) after David’s departure, though they managed to set a huge target of 218 runs for Islamabad at the loss of 5 wickets.
Islamabad’s opening pair, Paul Stirling (19) and Alex Hales (23), tried to set a blistering pace of the innings but could not survive the powerplay.
Captain Shadab Khan was the only batsman who fought back and almost won the match on his own by scoring 91 runs off 42 balls, but he lost his wicket in the 18 over while trying to hit a six.
Shadab took Islamabad’s score to 194/9 before Mohammad Wasim was bowled out by David Willey on 197.
This is the fourth consecutive victory for Multan Sultans in the tournament.
Islamabad United have so far played two matches and defeated Peshawar Zalmi by 9 wickets in their first PSL contest.
Defending champion Multan Sultans beat Islamabad United in high-scoring PSL match
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Defending champion Multan Sultans beat Islamabad United in high-scoring PSL match
- Multan set a huge target of 218 runs for the rival team after losing the toss at the National Stadium Karachi
- Islamabad’s captain Shadab Khan scored 91 runs off 42 deliveries but was caught near the boundary in the 18th over
Pakistan arrests suspect arriving from Cambodia amid crackdown on human smuggling
- Suspect worked at an “online fraud company” in Cambodia, later started smuggling people from Pakistan, says FIA
- Pakistan has intensified crackdown against human smugglers after hundreds of migrants drowned near Pylos in 2023
ISLAMABAD: Pakistan’s Federal Investigation Agency (FIA) on Sunday said it had arrested a key suspect involved in smuggling humans who had arrived from Cambodia, alleging he was also part of an international fraud network.
The suspect, identified as Zainullah, was arrested by FIA officials when he arrived in the southern port city of Karachi from Cambodia.
Zainullah had traveled from Pakistan to Cambodia in September 2024, a press release issued by the agency said.
“He worked at an online fraud company in Cambodia and later became involved as an agent in recruiting individuals from Pakistan,” the FIA said.
The FIA said it recovered images of multiple individuals’ passports, payment receipts and bank transaction records after extracting data from Zainullah’s phone.
It said the suspect received money through personal bank accounts and a cryptocurrency account.
“The suspect has been handed over to the FIA Anti-Human Trafficking Circle, Karachi, for further legal proceedings,” the FIA said.
“Further investigation is underway.”
Pakistan intensified action against illegal migration in 2023 after hundreds of migrants, including 262 Pakistanis, drowned when an overcrowded vessel sank off the Greek town of Pylos, one of the deadliest boat disasters in the Mediterranean.
Authorities say they continue to target networks sending citizens abroad through dangerous routes, following heightened scrutiny at airports and a series of arrests involving forged documents.
Pakistan’s interior ministry said this week illegal migration to Europe has declined by 47 percent this year after its nationwide crackdown, saying that more than 1,700 human smugglers have been arrested in 2025.
